Free history Kindle books for 06 May 15

This absolutely fascinating book contains over two hundred an seventy-five interesting details covering various categories such as war, history, sports, different countries, time and much more. This is not your normal question and answer trivia book. It is more a book of knowledge allowing you to increase what you already know. Yet while learning you can find that the extraordinary and the ordinary are often one of the same and that fact and fiction can come from the same cloth.

I hope you discover that trivia is brimming with knowledge to questions you had no idea to ask. Yes trivia, but a trivia that is worth more than a value of little importance. Your trivia knowledge will increase with each fun fact page. A great book for kids and seniors alike. What better way to learn and be entertained than to be askâ?¦..DID YOU KNOW?

The German Invasion of Norway, codenamed Operation WeserÃ¼bung, was one of the most impressive German strategic achievements of the war. Through close co-operation between the Kriegsmarine, Luftwaffe, and Heer (Army), German forces were able to quickly overrun and defeat an entire country before its army had even had time to fully mobilize.

Though ultimately successful, the plan was a highly risky one. If the German troops had failed in their initial objectives, and the Norwegian Army had been able to mobilize with the assistance of the British, the small German force would have been trapped in numerous isolated pockets, cut off from supply and reinforcement by the British Royal Navy. Even though the plan was carried off almost flawlessly, it still came at a heavy cost. In actions along the Norwegian coast, the Royal Navy and Norwegian shore batteries almost annihilated the Kreigsmarine’s destroyer force, sank the heavy cruiser BlÃ¼cher and damaged the cruisers Gneisenau and LÃ¼tzow.

Illustrated with several full color maps, this book describes the planning and execution of the Norwegian campaign, including the roles played by the FallschirmjÃ¤ger (paratroopers) and GebirgsjÃ¤ger (mountain infantry).

“No more terrifying object ever came down a street than a mounted guerrilla wild for blood, the bridle-reins between his teeth or over the saddle-horn, the horse running recklessly, the rider yelling like a Comanche, his long unkempt hair flying wildly beyond the brim of his broad hat, and firing both to the right and left with deadly accuracy. When a town was filled with such men bent on death, terror ensued, reason and judgment fled, and hell yawned.” – William Elsey Connelley, author of Quantrill and the Border Wars

The Civil War is best remembered for the big battles and the legendary generals who fought on both sides, like Robert E. Lee facing off against Ulysses S. Grant in 1864. In kind, the Eastern theater has always drawn more interest and attention than the West. However, while massive armies marched around the country fighting each other, there were other small guerrilla groups that engaged in irregular warfare on the margins, and among these partisan bushwhackers, none are as infamous as William Quantrill and Quantrill’s Raiders.

Quantrill’s Raiders operated along the border between Missouri and Kansas, which had been the scene of partisan fighting over a decade earlier during the debate over whether Kansas and Nebraska would enter the Union as free states or slave states. In “Bleeding Kansas”, zealous pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces fought each other, most notably John Brown, and the region became a breeding ground for individuals like Quantrill who shifted right back into similar fighting once the Civil War started. Rather than target military infrastructure or enemy soldiers, the bushwhackers rode in smaller numbers and targeted civilians on the other side of the conflict, making legends out of men like Bloody Bill Anderson and John Mosby.

The reason Quantrill’s Raiders remain so notorious today is for the raid on Lawrence, Kansas in August 1863, during which they slaughtered nearly 200 boys and men between the ages of 14-90 under the pretext that they were capable of holding a gun and thus helping the Union cause. After that massacre, Union forces in the area retaliated in similar fashion, forcing Southern sympathizers out of several counties in the area and burning the property. Union forces also detained those accused of assisting Quantrill’s Raiders, including their relatives.

After raiding Lawrence, Quantrill’s Raiders headed south, and they eventually split off into several groups. Quantrill himself was killed while fighting in June 1865, nearly two months after Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox, but his name was kept alive by the notorious deeds of his Raiders during the war and the criminal exploits of former Raiders like Jesse James and his brother, as well as the Younger brothers. These men, who had fought with Quantrill, became some of America’s most famous outlaws, and they used guerrilla tactics to rob banks and trains while eluding capture.

The Lawrence Massacre: The History of the Civil War’s Most Notorious Guerrilla Attack chronicles the events that led up to the raid and its aftermath. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Lawrence Massacre like never before, in no time at all.

*Profiles the seminal events that helped Hitler rise to power and consolidate his position, including the end of World War I, the Beer Hall Putsch, the Burning of the Reichstag, and the Night of the Long Knives

*Includes online resources for further reading

*Includes a table of contents

“I cannot remember in my entire life such a change in the attitude of a crowd in a few minutes, almost a few seconds … Hitler had turned them inside out, as one turns a glove inside out, with a few sentences. It had almost something of hocus-pocus, or magic about it.” – Dr. Karl Alexander von Mueller

It is often claimed that Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany through democratic means, and while that is a stretch, it is true that he managed to become an absolute dictator as Chancellor of Germany in the 1930s through a mixture of politics and intimidation. Ironically, he had set such a course only because of the failure of an outright coup attempt known as the Beer Hall Putsch about a decade earlier.

At the close of World War I, Hitler was an impoverished young artist who scrapped by through selling souvenir paintings, but within a few years, his powerful oratory brought him to the forefront of the Nazi party in Munich and helped make the party much more popular. A smattering of followers in the hundreds quickly became a party of thousands, with paramilitary forces like the SA backing them, and at the head of it all was a man whose fiery orations denounced Jews, communists and other “traitors” for bringing upon the German nation the Treaty of Versailles, which had led to hyperinflation and a wrecked economy.

The early 1930s were a tumultuous period for German politics, even in comparison to the ongoing transition to the modern era that caused various forms of chaos throughout the rest of the world. In the United States, reliance on the outdated gold standard and an absurdly parsimonious monetary policy helped bring about the Great Depression. Meanwhile, the Empire of Japan began its ultimately fatal adventurism with the invasion of Manchuria, alienating the rest of the world with the atrocities it committed. Around the same time, Gandhi began his drive for the peaceful independence of India through nonviolent protests against the British.

It was in Germany, however, that the strongest seeds of future tragedy were sown. The struggling Weimar Republic had become a breeding ground for extremist politics, including two opposed and powerful authoritarian entities: the right-wing National Socialists and the left-wing KPD Communist Party. As the 1930s dawned, these two totalitarian groups held one another in a temporary stalemate, enabling the fragile ghost of democracy to continue a largely illusory survival for a few more years.

That stalemate was broken in dramatic fashion on a bitterly cold night in late February 1933, and it was the Nazis who emerged decisively as the victors. A single act of arson against the famous Reichstag building proved to be the catalyst that propelled Adolf Hitler to victory in the elections of March 1933, which set the German nation irrevocably on the path towards World War II.

Like other totalitarian regimes, the leader of the Nazis kept an iron grip on power in part by making sure nobody else could attain too much of it, leading to purges of high-ranking officials in the Nazi party. Of these purges, the most notorious was the Night of the Long Knives, a purge in the summer of 1934 that came about when Hitler ordered the surprise executions of several dozen leaders of the SA. This fanatically National Socialist paramilitary organization had been a key instrument in overthrowing democratic government in Germany and raising Hitler to dictatorial power in the first place. However, the SA was an arm of the Nazi phenomenon which had socialist leanings and which was the private army of Ernst RÃ¶hm, which was enough for Hitler to consider the organization dangerous.

We know about the horror of slave trade in which people of our lands were sold to labor sugar, coffee, tobacco, cotton fields, or to work in gold and silver mines in America and West Indies. We know about the slavery and the pains of those Africans who were transported to America; but we still want to go in USA.

Why is Donovan, who came lately from the USA, so tortured and upset by this common past almost forgotten by our parents?

“He told me he never expected to live through the war, and that if we were conquered, that he did not want to live.” – Major Andrew R. Venable, Stuart’s aide

Alongside Robert E. Lee, no one epitomized the chivalry and heroism celebrated by the Lost Cause more than J.E.B. Stuart, the most famous cavalry officer of the Civil War. Stuart was equal parts great and grandiose while leading the cavalry for the Confederacy in Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Stuart was a throwback to the past, colorfully dressing with capes, sashes, and an ostrich plumed hat, while sporting cologne and a heavy beard, but he was also brilliant in conducting reconnaissance, and he proved capable of leading both cavalry and infantry at battles like Chancellorsville. As the eyes and ears of Robert E. Lee’s army, none were better, despite the fact that he was only in his late 20s and early 30s during the Civil War, far younger than most men of senior rank.

In early May of 1864, Union cavalry commander Philip Sheridan organized a massive raid against Confederate supply and railroad lines near Richmond. On May 9, the largest cavalry force ever assembled in the Eastern Theater, over 10,000 horsemen and 32 artillery pieces, arched southeast intending to slip behind Lee’s army and head toward Richmond. By doing so, they could harass supply lines, cut up railroad tracks behind Lee’s army, and at least feint towards Richmond in a way that would bring about a confrontation. This would give Sheridan the chance to seek his biggest objective: eliminate Stuart’s cavalry.

Moving aggressively, Sheridan crossed the North Anna River and seized Beaver Dam Station on the Virginia Central Railroad. Anticipating their arrival, Stuart and his cavalrymen had already destroyed most of the critical military supplies, so Sheridan’s men destroyed railroad cars, ripped out telegraph lines, and rescued hundreds of Union prisoners of war who had been captured at the Battle of the Wilderness days earlier.

Around noon on May 11, 1864, the two forces met at Yellow Tavern, an abandoned inn six miles north of Richmond, Virginia. Not only did the Union outnumber the Confederates, it had superior firepower because many of the horsemen were armed with newly-developed rapid-firing Spencer carbine rifles. Despite the disadvantages, however, the Confederates proved resilient for several hours as both sides conducted charges and countercharges, but during one of them, Stuart came into view of some retreating Union soldiers of George Custer’s 5th Michigan cavalry. One of them, a 48 year old sharpshooter named John A. Huff, found himself only about 20 yards away from the vaunted and easily recognizable Stuart. Huff turned and shot Stuart with his .44-caliber pistol, sending a bullet slicing through his stomach and exiting his back, just right of his spine.

In excruciating pain, an ambulance took Stuart to the home of his brother-in-law Dr. Charles Brewer, in Richmond, to await his wife’s arrival, but before his wife could even reach him, Stuart died the following day at 7:38 p.m. In his final moments, Stuart ordered his sword and spurs be given to his son, and his last words were “I am resigned; God’s will be done.” He was just 31.

The Battle of Yellow Tavern: The History of the Civil War Battle that Ended J.E.B. Stuart’s Life comprehensively covers the events leading up to the battle, the fighting itself, and the aftermath of the battle. Accounts of the battle by important participants are also included, along with maps of the battle and pictures of important people, places, and events. You will learn about the Battle of Yellow Tavern like you never have before.

“That the future may learn from the past.” – The motto of Colonial Williamsburg

Along with Jamestown and Yorktown, Colonial Williamsburg is known today as part of the Historic Triangle of Virginia, but all three of these old Virginian sites are known for vastly different reasons. While Yorktown was the scene of the final climactic battle of the American Revolution and Jamestown is remembered for being the first English settlement to survive in Virginia, Colonial Williamsburg is now best known as a bridge to the past.

Williamsburg got its start as a fortified site, which was vitally necessary for English settlers to heavily outnumbered by nearby Native Americans, many of which were at times hostile. Known originally as Middle Plantation, the site served as the capital of the colony for much of the 18th century, and it bore witness to seminal events in the history of Revolutionary era America, including the Gunpowder Incident, which nearly coincided with the Battles of Lexington and Concord to the north. However, once the capital was again moved, Williamsburg lost much of its prominence, and by the end of the 19th century it was best known for hosting the College of William and Mary.

As fate would have it, a major initiative during the 20th century would restore Williamsburg to a place of prominence, literally. In one of America’s most ambitious building projects, efforts were undertaken to reconstruct the main parts of Colonial Williamsburg and restore it to a more original appearance, whether it was constructing new buildings with the old architecture or renovating colonial buildings.

In doing so, Williamsburg was transformed from a sleepy (albeit historic) town into the biggest tourist destination in Virginia, and America’s most famous living-history museums. In the 20th century, it was used to teach students about American history and even current events, and naturally, it is now a place full of exhibits and historical reenactments. Put simply, there is no place else in the country that can provide modern Americans with a sense of what life was like in the 17th and 18th centuries better than Colonial Williamsburg, which is what makes it so popular nearly 400 years after it was founded.

Colonial Williamsburg: The History of the Settlement that Became America’s Most Famous Living-History Museum analyzes the history of Williamsburg and its transformation into Virginia’s most visited tourist spot. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Colonial Williamsburg like never before, in no time at all.

*Includes accounts of the campaign written by generals and soldiers on both sides

*Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading

*Includes a table of contents

“Never had there been such an overwhelming victory during the Civil War – indeed, never in American military history.” – Wiley Ford’s comment on the Franklin-Nashville Campaign

As Sherman began his infamous march to the sea, Lincoln instructed Grant to redirect General George H. Thomas’ efforts back to Tennessee to protect Union supply lines and stop the offensive mounted by Confederate general John Bell Hood. Hood had broken away from Atlanta and was trying to compel Sherman to follow him, thus diverting him from his intended path of destruction. With Sherman marching east toward the sea, he directed Thomas to try to block Hood around Nashville.

In late November, the Army of the Ohio, being led by Thomas’ principal subordinate John Schofield, all but blindly stumbled into Hood’s forces, and it was only through luck that some of them had not been bottled up before they could regroup together. Receiving word of Union troop movement in the Nashville area, General Hood sent for his generals while attempting to hold off Schofield’s advance. Hood knew that if Schofield reached Thomas’ position, their combined armies would number more than twice his. Though the Confederates successfully blocked Schofield’s route to Nashville, the Union general managed to execute an all-night maneuver that brought him to Franklin, about 18 miles south of Nashville.

On November 30, the Union army began digging in around Franklin, and that afternoon Hood ordered a frontal assault on the dug in Union army which deeply upset his own officers. After repeated frontal assaults failed to create a gap in the Union lines, Schofield withdrew his men across the river on the night of November 30, successfully escaping Hood’s army. Meanwhile, Hood had inflicted nearly 8,000 casualties upon his army (men the Confederacy could scarcely afford to lose), while the Union lost about a quarter of that.

Despite practically wrecking his army, which was now only about 25,000 strong, Hood marched his battered army to a position outside Nashville, Tennessee, where he took up defensive positions while awaiting reinforcements from Texas. On December 1, General Thomas sent word to Grant that he had “retired to the fortifications around Nashville until I can get my cavalry equipped”, a reference to the fact that Forrest’s cavalry had more than double the manpower of the Union cavalry. But Thomas also added that “if Hood attacks our position, he would be seriously damaged, but if he makes no attack until our cavalry can be equipped, [I] or General Schofield will move against him at once.” The following day Grant wired back, “If Hood is permitted to remain quietly about Nashville, you will lose all the road back to Chattanooga, and possibly have to abandon the line of the Tennessee. Should he attack you it is all well; but if he does not, you should attack him before he fortifies. Arm and put in the trenches your quartermaster’s employees, citizens, etc.”

Even with Grant constantly urging him forward, Thomas held back for nearly two weeks, partly because of a bad ice storm, and his delay nearly resulted in having Grant remove him from command. When it was clear reinforcements wouldn’t arrive by December 15, Thomas finally devised a complex two-pronged attack that feinted at Hood’s right flank while bringing overwhelming force on the left flank. During the two day battle, Thomas effectively destroyed Hood’s command, inflicting about 8,000 more Confederate casualties while losing less than half that. Upon reaching his headquarters at Tupelo, Mississippi, General Hood requested to be relieved of command rather than be removed in disgrace.

“My good friends,” the mustached, bony man with thick eyebrows and large, strong teeth somewhat reminiscent of those of a horse, shouted to the crowds from the second-floor window of his house at 10 Downing Street, “this is the second time in our history, that there has come back to Downing Street from Germany peace with honor. I believe it is peace for our time.” (McDonough, 1998, 70).

The man addressing the crowd, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, had just returned from the heart of Nazi Germany following negotiations with Adolf Hitler, and the crowd gathered outside the English leader’s house on September 30, 1938 greeted these ringing words with grateful cheers. The piece of paper Chamberlain flourished exultantly seemed to offer permanent amity and goodwill between democratic Britain and totalitarian Germany. In it, Britain agreed to allow Hitler’s Third Reich to absorb the Sudeten regions of Czechoslovakia without interference from either England or France, and since high percentages of ethnic Germans – often more than 50% locally – inhabited these regions, Hitler’s demand for this territory seemed somewhat reasonable to Chamberlain and his supporters. With Germany resurgent and rearmed after the disasters inflicted on it by the Treaty of Versailles following World War I, the pact – known as the Munich Agreement – held out hope of a quick end to German ambitions and the return of stable, normal international relations across Europe.

Of course, the Munich agreement is now notorious because its promise proved barren within a very short period of time. Chamberlain’s actions either failed to avert or actually hastened the very cataclysm he wished to avoid at all costs. The “Munich Agreement” of 1938 effectively signed away Czechoslovakia’s independence to Hitler’s hungry new Third Reich, and within two years, most of the world found itself plunged into a conflict which made a charnelhouse of Europe and left somewhere between 60-80 million people dead globally.

Of course, as most people now know, the invasion of Poland was merely the preface to the Nazi blitzkrieg of most of Western Europe, which would include Denmark, Belgium, and France by the summer of 1940. The resistance put up by these countries is often portrayed as weak, and the narrative is that the British stood alone in 1940 against the Nazi onslaught, defending the British Isles during the Battle of Britain and preventing a potential German invasion.

In particular, the campaign in Poland is remembered as one in which an antiquated Polish army was quickly pummeled by the world’s most modern army. Polish lancers charging in a valiant yet idiotic attack against German tanks is the only image from the 1939 Nazi-Soviet invasion of Poland remaining in the popular imagination today. Originating as a piece of Nazi propaganda, paradoxically adopted by the Poles as a patriotic myth, the fictional charge obscures the actual events of September 1939. Outnumbered, outgunned, and under-equipped, the Polish army nevertheless inflicted heavy losses on the invading Wehrmacht. In fact, only the unexpected advance of Soviet forces from the east put a quick end to the struggle.